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Gov. Nikki Haley shares details of past child abuse

Health professionals, state leaders to collaborate on child abuse measures

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Updated: 7:52 PM EDT Jul 8, 2013

Gov. Nikki Haley shares details of past child abuse

Health professionals, state leaders to collaborate on child abuse measures

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Updated: 7:52 PM EDT Jul 8, 2013

GREENVILLE, S.C. —

Gov. Nikki Haley opened up about her childhood during a discussion on identifying and handling child abuse cases.

Haley spoke at the Children's Hospital on Monday to discuss details of a recently released study on child abuse in South Carolina.

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"I am a victim of child abuse from a child care provider when I was little," Haley told the crowd. "When it happened to me, my parents didn't know what to do. They didn't know who to go to. No one knew how to handle it."

The Silent Tears study was conducted to provide more guidance when it comes to handling child abuse cases. The study was funded through a $250,000 endowment from Greenville philanthropists Bob and Lisa Castellani.

The study called for more training and improvements in the way child abuse cases are identified, reported and prosecuted.

Haley wrote about being abused by care providers in her book, "Can't Is Not an Option." While she said she, herself, had no memory of what happened, her mother described Haley as being hysterical upon reaching the home of the care provider.

"My mom said something was wrong. I never wanted to go, but she didn't know quite what it was and didn't think anything of it," Haley said. "Then, one day, I came home and I had a lot of bruises and a lot of issues. When she confronted the couple that was taking care of me, they packed up and they left. We never got to deal with it."

Dr. Nancy Henderson, a child abuse pediatrician, said she sees children have suffered a wide range of abuse and neglect.

"We see everything," Henderson told WYFF. "They've been victims of not only physical abuse, but sexual abuse, in a home with domestic violence -- maybe in a home with drugs and alcohol -- and all those things are really compounded for that particular child."

Henderson said it is the goal of health professionals to make sure the child is safe from harm while taking steps to help.

"We want to make the right decision, so we don't want to accuse anyone of doing something that hasn't happened," Henderson said.

Lisa Castellani said she and her husband decided to fund the study after she dealt with child abuse while practicing as a pediatrician.

"I would bring that home with me, and so, as a couple, we decided that it was something that needed to be addressed -- not just one child at a time -- but in a more systemic way," Castellani said.

Castellani said she would like the study to inspire similar action across the country.

"So that we can see this model being propagated nationally, and we can come up with more standardized, best-practice type approach to the problem," Castellani said.

Henderson said the study provides a good starting point.

"This is not something that you can give an antibiotic to or, really, a quick fix," Henderson said. "This really is something that affects a child through their lifetime and shows up in ways we really don't think of."